Susan Granger’s review of “Sondheim on Sondheim” (Roundabout’s Studio 54: 2009/2010 season)
The 80th birthday of Broadway’s most influential living composer/lyricist Stephen Sondheim is celebrated by this dazzling autobiographical revue, a multimedia musical portrait covering six decades and 20 shows, conceived/directed by Sondheim’s longtime collaborator James Lapine (“Sunday in the Park With George,” “Into the Woods”).
While Barbara Cook, Vanessa Williams and Tom Wopat sing familiar and obscure Sondheim songs, witty, insightful video reminiscences and wry, informative observations from the composer himself about his life and work serve as the highlight. There are photographs showing how, as a child, Sondheim was integrated into lyricist Oscar Hammerstein’s family after his parents’ marriage disintegrated, along with glimpses of the décor of Sondheim’s Manhattan office, including his memorabilia. And the biggest laugh comes from his anecdote about Ethel Merman’s encounter with Loretta Young.
Making her first Broadway appearance since the early ‘70s, the exquisite 82 year-old chanteuse Barbara Cook, along with Vanessa Williams and Tom Wopat, tops the talented, energetic ensemble – that includes Euan Morton, Leslie Kritzer, Norm Lewis, Erin Mackey and Matthew Scott – as they romp through an uneven succession of songs and stories, including how the opening number of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” evolved, along with the development of “Follies” and “Company.” There’s barely a dry eye in the house after Sondheim relates how – when he was in his 40s – his mother cruelly told him her greatest regret in life was giving birth to him; after which, the cast performs the deeply touching “Children Will Listen” from “Into the Woods.”
While Peter Flaherty’s projections are stunning, Beowulf Boritt’s modular set is inventive and Ken Billington’s lighting is evocative, Susan Hilferty’s costumes lack flair. And amid other 80th birthday tributes, the nonprofit Roundabout Theater is renaming a Broadway theater (the Henry Miller) for Stephen Sondheim.